


Broken hearts

by k_itt



Series: Of Life... [4]
Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Background Relationships, Friendship, Implied Friends With Benefits, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Internal Conflict, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22079278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/k_itt/pseuds/k_itt
Summary: Ten wished he had never seen it.--This story happens before the events inOf Life, storms and sunlightbut can be read as a stand alone.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Ji Hansol/Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Series: Of Life... [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567363
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Broken hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first side story that I wrote for OLSS, but since it's Ten's pov it was also the toughest one to finally get rounded.

Taeyong used to call Ten a sound-holic – Ten doubted that word even existed – whenever he went to his place, as he would almost always had something on. It would be either the TV, his laptop, his speaker, or something playing on his headphones, as long as it created sound.

It hadn’t always been like that, but Ten started doing that probably sometime around when Hansol and Jaehyun started dating – or fucking, he didn’t know. He just didn’t want to hear. Anything. Whatever it could be. But now he really enjoyed it and would mostly have some music playing on his speakers whenever he was inside his room, being home alone or not.

It was Saturday and he was late. He was supposed to be at Yuta’s place about thirty minutes ago and the Bulls would play against NY Knicks in another five or so, so he would certainly miss part of it and classic games nights were usually the best nights. Yuta and Taeil would always get a little bit more than tipsy sometime during the match, and if the Bulls wins, Johnny and Jaehyun would mostly join them afterwards. Sometimes he would do it too, and Lucas would always get drunk, the Bulls winning or not, whenever he joined them. TY and Doyoung would be the designated drivers on those nights, like Hansol – if he ever joined them on those nights, that is – and nothing much would ever happen, but the boys being loud. It was just fun.

Ten haven’t turned on the music that night as he got dressed. He had been practicing all afternoon with Hendery and Lucas for a workshop they would attend together next week and lost track of time, so he only had time for a quick shower while Lucas drove to the nearest store to grab them some beer.

The apartment had been quiet when he got home and Hansol’s bedroom door was ajar, so maybe, by some kind of miracle, Hansol had joined Jaehyun and the others that night.

Ten couldn’t have been more wrong – and he never wished he had been that right – when he stepped out of his own bedroom, wet fringe poking his eyes and socks in his hand, and Hansol stood there, right in the middle of their living room with his back against the wall and some guy that was certainly not Jaehyun between his legs. They were kissing; and not some friendly peck on the lips kind of kissing as Hansol had hands around the blonde guy’s neck, legs around the man’s waist and they were grossly making out, right in front of Ten.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Words slipped out of his mouth even before he could think. The only thing going around his head was Jaehyun, who had been around that morning and smiled at Ten with his (in)famous dimples and messed hair over a mug of coffee. Jaehyun, whom he was supposed to meet in a few minutes at their friend’s place and probably had absolutely no idea what his boyfriend was doing instead.

Ten didn’t really wait for an answer, and maybe it was better if he didn’t know – it was probably better if he hadn't known at all – and he quickly made his way to the door while the guy and Hansol muttered things somewhere behind him. He really wished he didn’t know.

“You can’t tell him.” Hansol’s words made him stop and socks could wait, as Ten simply stepped in whatever sneaker he found of their small hallway. He couldn’t turn around. He wasn’t the one doing something wrong, but he couldn’t meet Hansol’s eyes. “You can’t, Ten. I’m warning you.”

Ten gulped. Hs chest felt heavy and it wasn’t just summer night heat that made the air around them thick.

Jaehyun hadn’t been around that much as he usually did, so it had been quite a surprise when Ten stepped out of his bedroom earlier that morning to find Jaehyun sitting on the Butterfly chair in the living room, with a mug and his phone in his hands. Jaehyun have always had the warmest of smiles whenever they met and Ten was lying if he said he didn’t miss their usual talking on Saturday or Sunday mornings, as Hansol would only leave his bedroom around noon, unless needed.

It hadn’t always been easy, to pretend that he was fine knowing exactly what Hansol and Jaehyun were doing locked up inside Hansol’s bedroom, but Ten had gotten used to it as his friendship with Jaehyun built. It was funny, if not ironic, how there were weeks he would meet Jaehyun more than he would meet his own roommate at their own apartment – he would meet Hansol every day at the studio, of course, but there were times he would go for days without seeing him inside their shared apartment. Ten had spend hours talking to Jaehyun, either at their kitchen or their living room during those same weeks. He got used to Hansol awkwardness too, after sharing an apartment for two years now, but those things never failed to amuse him somehow.

Jaehyun was an outgoing and very friendly kind of person, and if their talking on mornings like that had once been awkward, it was almost part of their routine nowadays and Ten appreciated those moments. They would simply talk, about whatever they wanted, and Ten learned a long time ago that they had a lot in common and that, for what they hadn’t, they could easily share, too, and it was always good to know more about Jaehyun and his stories and his tastes. They had really become good friends by now, and Ten liked it how it was.

It was dangerous territory, as Lucas would say, but Ten was fine with his feelings by now – he really was – and he cared for Jaehyun just as much as he cared for Johnny. He still didn’t like to risk hearing them, though, so maybe TY was right and he had become a sound-holic, whatever that meant. Ten really wished he had some music playing earlier, so Hansol would have known that he was home. So Ten didn’t have to know.

“I can’t.”

Ten couldn’t tell Jaehyun. It wasn’t his business, in the first place, or so he told himself on his way down the staircase. He didn’t bother to close the door and waiting for the lift wasn’t and option. He had to move and get out of there and, hopefully, Lucas was already waiting for him outside.

Jaehyun was one of his best friends, or closest friend, or at least one of the people Ten cared for the most and, certainly, one of the best people in Ten’s life. Hansol was also his friend, somehow. He was his roommate and their friendship wasn’t always easy – didn’t have much in common – but Ten cared for him anyway and their differences were almost always set apart whenever they danced. Hansol was an amazing dancer and Ten really liked dancing with him. Now Jaehyun… Jaehyun was really his friend and the endless stairs did nothing but bring memories back; memories from when Ten met Jaehyun and those feelings he didn’t dare talk about – Ten had really been fine with them. Really.

How could Hansol do that? How could he face Jaehyun now? Ten couldn’t. He couldn’t tell anyone – oh god, Johnny would probably blow out more than Jaehyun could – and Ten had been in Jaehyun’s place once and is sucked to hear about it from Taeyong. _“That’s what best-friends do.”_ TY had said it back in L.A. and Ten got it him, but it sucked nonetheless to not hear it from the one he loved, back then, and it had fucking hurt. No. He couldn’t be that person.

“Hey!” Lucas called him across the street and Ten barely looked sideways before crossing it, not even waiting for Lucas before he jumped inside the old Ford. He couldn’t tell Lucas either. Not that he didn’t trust him, because he trusted Lucas more than his own shadow, but couldn’t tell even to Lucas about what he had just seen, exactly because he couldn’t trust himself saying it.

For years he knew Jaehyun and for years now he had learned how to deal with it, and now his heart weighed more than it should and bumped more than he could bare, and it jumped, just like Ten, when Lucas finally got inside the car, the door knocking with a loud thud beside him.

“I don’t think we should go to Yuta’s house.” Ten asked, daring to glance at Lucas, but the smile he tried to wear never really reached his face.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” He shrugged, but Lucas just knew him too well and thanks god it wasn’t TY beside him instead, as his best friend would just _know_ and he’d ask, and Ten was afraid he couldn’t hide it this time. Still, when Lucas simply stared at him, with big bright eyes that had more concern and knowledge in them that Ten could ask for, his voice betrayed him as he mumbled. “I’m just not in the mood anymore.”

There was this thing about having a broken heart and that was that a broken heart would always recognize another broken one. Not that Jaehyun ever broke Ten’s heart, no, it never happened. Except for the fact that Ten’s heart insisted to beat just a little bit faster for Jaehyun, but Jaehyun was dating his roommate instead. It was not their faults, Ten knew that. It simply happened and Hansol had probably been faster. Not that Ten would take the first step anyway, it wasn’t how he worked. But one day they met Johnny and Jaehyun, and Jaehyun was just so sweet and too gorgeous, and Ten blinked and then Jaehyun was always around his place, going in and out of Hansol’s bedroom.

He had been doing that for two years now and Ten got used to it. He got used having Jaehyun around. He got used to his warm smiles and silly jokes, and Johnny pulling out all that goofiness whenever they were together, and Ten thought that a “boys will be boys” search on Google should have a picture of both Jaehyun and Johnny’s drunk ass at TY’s apartment floor as its first result. Another one with the two of them plus a lopsided Yuta hanging from both of their shoulders at Yuta’s place should probably be second one.

Ten got used to Jaehyun’s morning voice as they talked in Ten’s living room, over a coffee and about a book he was currently reading, or about this thing that his new intern did at work earlier that week, that would lead them to talk about first working experiences, and youth, and old stories from Jaehyun and Johnny back in college. Ten got used to having Jaehyun carefully listening to him talking about this specific side character from this movie Ten have watched some time ago and how it reminded him of this and that, and so many things that would usually bore the hell out of Lucas or TY, but Jaehyun would simply listen with his calm eyes. He would even ask something or another and Ten could always go on and on until Hansol stepped out of his bedroom, looking very sleepy, and Jaehyun would simply smile, apologetic, as he almost regretted he couldn’t stay and listen to more of what Ten could possibly say, before he got back to his boyfriend’s bedroom.

Ten got used to having his headphones blasting music on his ears inside his own apartment whenever Jaehyun was around.

Ten got used to TY’s side glances and silent warnings whenever both Hansol and Jaehyun were around – which didn’t occur much – and specially to TY’s curious ones, whenever Jaehyun hanged around them without Hansol – which happened a lot, actually. He also got used to Lucas’s knowing ones, but that, they reciprocated whenever Ten hung around Lucas and Yuta’s crew.

That was probably why he didn’t have to give Lucas any further information as they silently rode to Lucas’s apartment and the silence inside the car was only heavy inside Ten’s heart; his brain talking nonstop inside his head.

That was probably why Lucas didn’t questioned him when he drowned in bottles of beer as they watched whatever movie Lucas had put on the TV.

That was probably why Lucas’s large hand was soft in Ten’s cheek when Ten leaned on his friend’s shoulder and whispered. “Make me forget.”

That was probably why Lucas’s lips were sweet over his own lips, but didn’t last, before Ten felt them on his forehead.

It usually wasn’t like that between them. It had been months since they shared a bed like that, and they were usually drunk, yes, but Ten wasn’t that drunk now. Neither were Lucas, and Ten actually felt bad for even thinking of using his friend like that.

“The new boyfriend was at the studio today.” Was Lucas’s short explanation. “I saw them kissing before we left.”

“Oh, honey.” Ten’s heart dropped for the second time that night, for almost the same reason, when he pulled back and saw the forced up smile drawing up the corner of Lucas’s lips. He hated to see his friend like this. “I’m sorry.” Ten whispered as he pulled Lucas closer to him by his broad shoulders.

“We should really move on. Both of us.” Lucas voice was muffled on Ten’s shoulders and it always broke Ten’s heart to hear him like that. Broken hearts would always understand each other, but Ten couldn’t easily admit that – and Lucas already knew.

There were times like this, when Ten laid on Lucas’s bed after watching some movies, while Lucas still cracked over some silly joke from it over the phone and that he was probably sharing it along with Hendery in their group chat just to piss Kun off – now Kun was the only one who hadn’t watched it yet – that Ten wished he had fallen for Lucas instead, but it was just silly, as Lucas also had someone else in his head and mostly in his heart.

Ten’s heart beat faster again that night, but tighter, when he scanned over Instagram and Jaehyun’s drunk smile were all over his friends’ stories. The Bulls had won, that was for sure.

“Stop torturing yourself.”

“Am not.”

Ten was stubborn, he knew that, but there were things that shouldn’t be said out-loud, and when his phone buzzed in his hand with a message from no one else but Jaehyun himself, his face probably said enough, or it was just his heart beating so loud his that friend could probably hear it. It was silly: just a picture of a drunk Johnny carrying a laughing Taeyong on his shoulder like his boyfriend weighed nothing.

**_Jaehyun:_ **

_ <image attached>  
_ _  
_ _Can we dump them?  
_ _  
_ _Btw  
_ _  
_ _We won  
_

_:)_

Ten didn’t even have the guts for that, that night, and Lucas’s warm lips on his hair was kind of what he needed and Ten didn’t protest when Lucas pulled him closer, and they just stayed like that for the night, both lost in their own broken hearts, but Ten was just way to worried about Jaehyun’s possible broken one, to think about his own.

He kind of hated Hansol a bit right now.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [@twitter](https://twitter.com/10queso)   
>  [@curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/10queso)


End file.
